TV’S GAME OF THRONES: There may be more consolidation coming in television. On the heels of Comcast Corp’s $45 billion proposed takeover of Time Warner Cable, AT&T has approached DirecTV about buying the satellite TV firm, the WSJ reports. Such a deal would create a pay television giant close in size to where Comcast will be if it completes its pending acquisition of Time Warner Cable. The WSJ says it’s not clear how detailed any talks are, although DirecTV is open to a deal. Of course, even if the two companies reach a deal, getting approval from regulators already scrutinizing the Comcast-TWC deal is no sure thing.

YOUTUBE’S REVOLUTION: YouTube introduced exactly zero new shows last night at its NewFront event (Brandcast). And aside from a video clip featuring the Food Network’s Jamie Oliver, there were no stars at the event – at least, not stars in the traditional sense. But there was a line of teens waiting to catch a glimpse of 18-year old YouTube creator Bethany Mota, who boasts of more than six million followers who pine for her makeup and fashion tips as she speaks directly into a digital camera. “A whole new type of video is being created on the Internet,” said new YouTube Chief Executive Susan Wojcicki, To help advertisers sort it all out, YouTube unveiled Google Preferred, a new program (first reported by WSJ) that help brands buy only the top creators.

HULU GOES BEYOND VIDEO: Hulu doesn’t have such issues. In Web video, Hulu is said to command some of the best ad rates in the business, and ad buyers often talk about the company being “sold out” of ad inventory. So it was interesting that during its NewFront presentation on Wednesday in New York that Hulu signaled its intention to branch into direct response ads. Those ads are often associated with the cheapest dregs of banner ads (“Click here for cheap mortgage rates or botox.”) But Hulu is looking to do something more innovative, such as letting people order a pie from Pizza Hut from a Hulu ad, reports WSJ’s CMO Today. Hulu will be walking an interesting tightrope here.

FACEBOOK’S MOBILE PUSH BEGINS: After weeks of reports, Facebook finally unveiled its mobile ad network during the company’s f8 developer conference in San Francisco, reports WSJ’s CMO Today.With its rich data collection, Facebook could really dial up the efficacy of mobile ads. But the company is allowing its partners, mobile app developers, to chose what kind of ads it chooses: basically, banner ads, interstitials, or a new form of Facebook native ads.You have to wonder, given the success Facebook has seen with its own native ads, why launch yet-another banner network?

AD AGENCY BIG BILLINGS: So Sir Martin Sorrell makes a lot of money. Maybe not Robinson Cano money. But close to Henrique De Castro money. The WPP CEO raked in a cool $50 million last year, more than twice as much the next highest paid CEO in the ad world, reports CMO Today. When people in the ad world talk about the agency model being broken, they are not talking about Mr. Sorrell’s bi-weekly take home pay packet. Sadly, Publicis’ CEO Maurice Levy took home only $6.7 million last year, putting him in fifth place. Mr. Levy may really need that Omnicom merger to work out, or he may have to start clipping coupons.

ELSEWHERE:Viacom Inc. is to buy UK broadcaster Channel 5 for $760 million, according to WSJ. Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes makes unusually candid critical comments about the performance of two of his cable channels, TNT and TruTV, reports WSJ. DreamWorks is planning a new family-oriented YouTube channel, Dreamworks TV, reports WSJ. The dating app Tindr is exploring running its first ads, reports Recode. The Onion is planning to launch Clickhole.com, a site that will spoof the likes of BuzzFeed and Upworthy, reports the New York Business Journal. The Internet music company Rdio is rolling out a free, ad-supported service, reports GigaOm.

About CMO Today

CMO Today is an offering from The Wall Street Journal, helping marketing executives discern who and what matters in marketing today. Contact our editors with news items, comments and questions at CMOToday@WSJ.com.